SUPERNATURAL MYSTERY · CANADIAN SERIES · 2026
A missing heir. A guarded town. A myth that refuses to stay buried.
Carrie-Anne Moss, Noah Reid, Clark Backo and Hudson Williams lead a contemporary mystery inspired by Baba Yaga. Your spoiler-free guide to the characters, premiere and weekly release schedule.
YAGA (2026) brings the legend of Baba Yaga into a present-day coastal mystery. A private investigator arrives looking for a missing heir and encounters a town where personal secrets and the possibility of ancient magic are difficult to separate.
The series begins on October 23, 2026, with two episodes on AMC+ in the United States and Crave in Canada. This guide covers the confirmed setup, cast and release plan without revealing the mystery’s solution. It is a first-look guide, not a scored review of the complete season.
In this guide
What is YAGA about?
The disappearance of Henry Park brings Rapp to Whittock, a small coastal town. Henry is the young heir to a powerful fishery, so his absence is not simply a private family matter: it places the investigator among people with connections, interests and reasons to be careful about what they reveal.
Rapp meets local detective Carson and university professor Katherine. The official premise puts him at odds with both, surrounding the investigation with uneasy relationships, hidden lives and magic. Those are the starting pieces, rather than an explanation of who is responsible or what has happened.
A coastal-town setting is especially useful for this kind of mystery. An outsider can ask direct questions without understanding the history behind the answers. The audience shares that uncertainty: a familiar face or ordinary conversation may carry a meaning that only becomes clear later.
YAGA cast and characters
Four central performers anchor the announced story. Each enters it from a different position: the visiting investigator, the local detective, the professor and the absent young man whose life becomes the subject of everyone else’s questions.
| Actor | Character |
|---|---|
| Noah Reid | Rapp, a private investigator |
| Clark Backo | Carson, a local detective |
| Carrie-Anne Moss | Katherine, a university professor |
| Hudson Williams | Henry Park, the missing fishery heir |
The additional cast includes Sheila McCarthy, Megan Follows, Ezra Franky, Patrick Gilmore, Katharine Isabelle and Hiro Kanagawa, alongside Emilija Baranac, Georgia Acken, Anisa Harris and Sam Krochmal. Character identities beyond the official starting descriptions are left out here to protect the unfolding story.
How Baba Yaga fits the mystery
AMC describes YAGA as a contemporary reimagining of the Baba Yaga myth. That wording is important: this is not presented as a straightforward retelling of a single traditional tale, nor as a historical drama set in a folkloric past.
The interesting tension is between two ways of reading the same situation. A detective looks for evidence, motives and contradictions. A story shaped by folklore may also ask what people believe, what they fear and which older explanations still have power over them. The premise lets those approaches collide.
It also creates a reason to be cautious about easy labels. Calling a character dangerous, strange or seductive tells us something about the observer as well as the person being observed. In a mystery, deciding too early who belongs to which category can be part of the trap.
The play and the creative team
Kat Sandler wrote the stage play on which YAGA is based and serves as the series’ writer, showrunner and executive producer. David Frazee and Rachel Talalay are the co-directors. The production comes from Blink49 Studios and Front Street Pictures in association with Bell Media.
Carrie-Anne Moss is also an executive producer, alongside Mackenzie Donaldson and Andrew Miller; Charles Cooper is credited as producer. The shift from stage to screen makes it possible to explore the town and its surroundings visually, but viewers do not need to know the play to follow the announced investigation.
For anyone who has read the play, adaptation is worth approaching as interpretation rather than a checklist of matching scenes. This guide deliberately avoids comparing endings or revealing which assumptions about the characters may prove unreliable.
YAGA episode release schedule
YAGA has eight half-hour episodes on AMC+ and Crave. Both official announcements specify a two-episode opening, one episode on the following Fridays and a two-episode conclusion. The calendar below follows that announced pattern; episode titles and exact release times are not assumed.
| Episode(s) | Date | Release |
|---|---|---|
| 1–2 | October 23, 2026 | Two-episode premiere |
| 3 | October 30, 2026 | Weekly release |
| 4 | November 6, 2026 | Weekly release |
| 5 | November 13, 2026 | Weekly release |
| 6 | November 20, 2026 | Weekly release |
| 7–8 | November 27, 2026 | Two-episode finale |
The season runs from October 23 to November 27, 2026. There is no announced full-season drop on opening day. If you prefer to watch everything consecutively, the stated finale date is the point at which the complete eight-part U.S./Canadian run is scheduled to be available.
Where to watch YAGA
In the United States, the announced streaming home is AMC+. In Canada, it is Crave. The schedule above applies to those releases and should not be presented as a universal date for every country.
Bell Media has announced international acquisitions by Sky in the UK and Ireland and New Zealand, HBO Max in Europe excluding the UK and Ireland, and Foxtel Group in Australia. Those rights announcements do not, by themselves, establish identical local launch dates.
There is also a packaging difference to watch for: Bell Media says the series is available to international broadcasters as either eight half-hour episodes or four hour-long episodes. A four-part listing in another territory therefore need not mean that half the story is missing.
Who is it for?
YAGA is a useful title to consider if you like a mystery with an uneasy atmosphere, conflicting personalities and supernatural possibilities. It is framed around an investigation and complicated adult relationships, rather than the familiar shape of a children’s fairy tale.
The short episode format may suit weekly viewing, but the appeal will depend on how much you enjoy uncertainty. The central invitation is to question what people say about one another, without assuming that folklore supplies an immediate answer to every clue.
For more seasonal viewing, explore our October 2026 horror movies and TV watchlist. Our gothic horror selection offers another route into darker Halloween viewing.
Frequently asked questions
When does YAGA premiere?
The first two episodes arrive on October 23, 2026 on AMC+ in the United States and Crave in Canada.
How many episodes are in YAGA Season 1?
The AMC+ and Crave release has eight half-hour episodes. Bell Media also lists a four-part, hour-long format for international broadcasters, so packaging can vary by territory.
When is the YAGA finale?
The announced two-episode finale is scheduled for Friday, November 27, 2026.
Are all episodes released at once?
No. Two episodes launch on October 23, followed by one each Friday until the final pair on November 27.
Who does Carrie-Anne Moss play?
Katherine, a charismatic university professor connected to the world Rapp investigates. This guide does not reveal the story’s later twists.
Who does Hudson Williams play?
The official starting premise identifies him as Henry Park, the missing young heir whose disappearance brings Rapp to Whittock.
Who plays the investigators?
Noah Reid plays private investigator Rapp, while Clark Backo plays local detective Carson.
Is YAGA based on a play?
Yes. Kat Sandler adapted her stage play for television and serves as writer, showrunner and executive producer.
Is YAGA a traditional fairy tale?
No. It reimagines the Baba Yaga myth as a contemporary mystery involving a disappearance, hidden relationships and ancient magic.
Is YAGA a movie or a series?
It is a scripted television series, originally made for Canadian streaming service Crave.
Is October 23 the worldwide release date?
It is the confirmed premiere for AMC+ in the U.S. and Crave in Canada. International rights have been sold to other broadcasters, whose dates and episode packaging may differ.
Do I need to read the play first?
No preparation is required to understand the official setup. Going in without knowing the play’s revelations also helps preserve the mystery.
Sources: AMC’s September announcement, AMC’s series introduction and Crave’s premiere and distribution announcement. Information checked October 22, 2026. Dates remain subject to broadcaster changes.
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